Nothing Screams PARTY like Champagne Cupcakes!

What could be more perfect than champagne cupcakes?! For all you fun lovers out there, this recipe is definitely worth trying. Here's what you'll need:

Champagne cupcakes:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sparkling wine

Champagne Buttercream Frosting:
3-3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3-4 tablespoons sparkling wine

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pan with paper or foil liners

In a large bowl, beat sugar and butter together until light and fluffy

Add your 2 eggs one at a time, mixing after each. Then add vanilla

In a separate bowl, combine all your dry ingredients:

flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and set aside

Now comes the fun part =)

In a small bowl, mix sour cream and champagne together

I substituted my sour cream with buttermilk and butter, worked out great

Alternate adding dry mixture and champagne mixture beginning and ending with the dry.

You'll get a nice looking batter like above!

To make these champagne cupcakes extra special, I used these adorable cupcake liners given to me by a friend. You peel the liner off the cupcake as if they are petals on a flower, very cute!

Getting ready to pop them in the oven...

Here it is! Light, fluffy, a little sweetness from the champagne

I found it a little difficult to frost the cupcake using these cupcake liners, 

being that my piping techniques are not the best!

If you have that problem too,carefully spread icing with a butter knife 

All ready for the party!

As you can see, I am still obsessed with the edible glitter hearts I bought from Michael's

They really just add something extra and cute!

Hope you guys had a great weekend and enjoyed this post! Will be back soon with more fun stuff! xo

Cake Batter Rice Krispie Cupcakes! Awesome No Bake Recipe...

How awesome are these?! I got this fantastic recipe from the blog Baked from a Box (click here for the original recipe).The best way to describe these, is an upgraded Rice Krispie treat that’s softer in texture but still has that nice crunch. The recipe is a slight twist on how you would normally make Rice Krispie treats, only you are using a mini muffin pan vs. baking sheet, and you add some cake mix and vanilla. And icing, let’s not forget the icing. OK, here we go with the step by step!

Melt 3/4 stick of butter

Melt marshmallows (5oz) I used minis! 

Keep microwaving until they are totally melted

Stir in melted marshmallows, 3/4 cup of cake mix, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

I added my sprinkles later, it was difficult to blend. I'd suggest adding them here (1 TBS)

Almost done! Add 2 cups of Rice Krispies to your liquid mixture, combine gently with spatula

Then add the next cup. I would suggest folding the mixture into itself, kind of like making dough for bread

Ready for action! Spray mini muffin pan with cooking spray - you will thank yourself later.

The mixture is sticky to work with, so I used a combination of a spoon and my fingers to gently press them into the pan. Don't push too hard or they will get ruined!

Pop these in the fridge for 30min. Now on to the icing!

Buttercream Frosting 

 1 stick of butter - room temperature 

 2 cups confectioners’ sugar 

 2 tsp vanilla 

 1 tsp almond milk (I didn't have almond milk, regular milk works fine)

For frosting, cream margarine in stand mixer with paddle attachment, then slowly add in confectioners’ sugar until well combined. Mix in vanilla, almond milk and food coloring if desired. 

Time to take the cake batter krispie treats out of the pan!

Use a butter knife to pop them out.

Perfect bite sized treats!

All dressed up! Do you like the icing color? Funny story...

I tried my hardest to achieve a true red using Wilton's food gel. This is the closest I got to red

I used so much food gel, that my fiance's tongue turned pink. Hilarious yes, but I wouldn't recommend it...

Awesome! I topped my treats with edible glitter hearts from Michael's craft store

They make any dessert look cuter, and come in a variety of colors (I also have the gold hearts)

Hope you guys enjoyed this post! Happy baking!

Bacon Pancake Bites!

Hey guys! Saw this recipe online and had to give it a try. They are basically pancakes baked in a muffin tray, topped off with some kick ass bacon! Here we go:

 

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Make pancake batter as you normally would. I used this recipe (easy pancake recipe) but you could also use the ready made pancake batter.

3.  Spray muffin tray with cooking spray, and spoon in pancake batter. Fill cups about 3/4 full.

4.  Cook bacon as you normally would - I used 6 pieces of bacon for 9 pancake bites. Pull them into pieces like below and sprinkle on top of batter. This recipe also works with - nuts, fruit, chocolate chips, etc. But obviously bacon is the best option, so don't be stupid.

5. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 12-15min. Check with a toothpick to make sure they are done inside.

6. Have a bacon pancake party in your mouth.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We topped our pancake bites with some butter and syrup, and of course a side of extra bacon. Making pancakes in a muffin tray is great if you are serving a few people and want the food to be done at the same time. Hope you guys enjoyed! 

How to Make...a BACON EXPLOSION

Hi loves! So for the superbowl, my fiancé made something pretty awesome – a bacon explosion! I mean come on, what could be better? We got the kick ass idea from http://www.bbqaddicts.com, and made a few tweaks to it:

 2 pounds thick cut bacon
 2 pounds Italian sausage (we used ground beef instead)
 1 jar of your favorite barbeque sauce
1 jar of your favorite barbeque rub (Greg made his own rub)
*Not in their recipe, but we added American cheese.

Create a 5X5 bacon weave. How cool does this look?

Add some seasoning, and add meat

Press down to make one big patty, be sure to make it uniform thickness all around

The good stuff! 

Add 1 pound of cooked bacon, your BBQ sauce and some CHEESE

Carefully take your meat layer, and roll into a log shape. Try to keep it as tight as possible

Seal both ends by pinching it together so all the goodness stays inside!

Lastly, roll the meat the meat forward completely wrapping it in the bacon!

Make sure seam is facing downward

Season again

TA DAAAA it's beautiful!!

Cook at 225 degrees, internal temperature at 165 degrees

Cook for about 2.5 hours until cooked all the way through

All cut up. What could be better than this!?

Hope you guys enjoyed, thanks for reading! 

Mom's Bran Muffin Recipe - the BEST muffins in the world!

 

Who doesn't love muffins, seriously?! As I kid, I was a terribly picky eater. My mom made these bran muffins for me and I would take one to school for lunch. They are so good, and easy to make! The great part about them, is they freeze very well. I made 2 dozens muffins, put them in mini ziplocks, and put them in the freezer. Whenever you get the urge, microwave one for 15-20 seconds and they are good to go! I love putting butter on mine, but they are great plain too.

 

 

Here is the recipe my mom uses written by her:

 

Here they are! The above recipe makes 12 muffins. I am so happy that they came out great, my fiancé even loves them which makes me smile!

I wanted to put my own little twist on the original recipe, so I substituted the bran flakes for Cinnamon Toast Crunch instead. They came out awesome, see below!

 I used the same amount of the Cinnamon Toast Crunch that I did of the bran flakes (2 3/4 cups). They come out a little browner on top than the bran muffins, but are just as awesome! I don't really love raisins or nuts, but if you do you can substitute the bran flakes for a different type of cereal mix. Experiment! Have fun!